LIMA, Peru, Sept. 19, 2013 – Peru’s visionary
leader in sustainable tourism, Rainforest Expeditions http://www.perunature.com/, reports that deep in
the Peruvian rainforest near its Tambopata
Research Centeran as-yet-unnamed insect or fungus has been
discovered that weaves an intricate funnel-shaped cocoon surrounded by
approximately 30 “posts” that are positioned vertically, connected by woven
“mesh,” and evenly spaced to form a “fence” measuring some 2 centimeters around
the cocoon.

Thus far entomologists are stumped as to what it is.

Troy Alexander, a graduate
student visiting the center in early June was the first to discover the
structure this past summer, first on the underside of a tarp and then on tree
trunks.

“I do not know what
organism made it. Never seen such a structure before,” said Jonathan
Coddington, who studies spiders and is associate director for science at the National Museum of Natural History.

Suggestions range from the structure being a spider egg sac to an
incomplete cocoon. Other suggestions are funnier.“I have seen people say that it’s been built
by a spider from Mars,
that it's a navigational aid built by mosquitos for navigating the dense
jungles, to alien communication arrays built by local arachnids under the
influence of alien mind control.” Jeff Cremer, spokesperson for Rainforest
Expeditions.“Some people even say that it
looks like the insect (or fungal) variation on the theme of the Late Middle Ages
tapestry, The Unicorn in Captivity,”

Tory Alexander’s favorite theory,
described on Facebook, is that “there are spider eggs in the base of the pole,
and the spiderlings climb the pole and sail away on silken parachutes,
protected by the fence the whole time.”

This region is no
stranger to new species. In early 2012 the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
reported on 365 previously undocumented species found in Bahuaja Sonene
National Park in the Tambopata River region of southeastern Peru. More recently
in September, 2012 a new spider species that created “false” decoy spiders as
protection was found at the center.